AN: Looking over this chapter, boy was it in a rough state. Still, I've edited it to make the fight a bit better - at least, naming/changing attacks for Kazuya, replacing 'Cleave' with Sword Slice, and overall just polishing the chapter.

Took me forever to realise that Foolish Whisper is multi-target, while the single-target Silence spell is Makajam. Oops...

Chapter 7: Fire of God

|Other World - Outside FSDC|19:21 pm|

Amara was numb with fright. Someone had discovered them, and their voice didn't sound friendly. This would be the first encounter with an inhabitant of this world - one that was actually human. Yet they might just be as murderous as the Shadows.

It was a man, but why are they trying to electrocute us?

"Who said that?" Serena asked, looking around. "I can't see him!"

"Up there!" Nathan said, pointing at the roof of a small building.

Atop this structure was a tall young man, of Japanese ethnicity, with long straight black hair and black eyes. Wearing an elaborate outfit consisting of a black and white shirt, orange pants and shoes, and a long cape of black, white and orange stripes, he was clutching two sharp daggers in his hands. From the way he was holding his weapons, he was very adept at using them.

"Hiyah!"

The man finally jumped down from the building. Despite the height, he managed to make a smooth - and somewhat stylish - landing. He looked at the three, who in turn stared at him with hesitation. No one budged an inch.

"I saw you take out those Maya earlier. Those Personas you have are quite exceptional. They'd make a wonderful addition to the Ornatu Legion." he said.

"And just what the hell is an Ornatu Legion? Actually, who are you?" Amara asked, confused. She, Nathan and Serena kept their weapons ready. To say this world felt off was an understatement. And this man's words did nothing to ease her doubts. Rather, they added another layer to them. More things she did not understand.

The man seemed just as perplexed as she did. He stared at her, flabbergasted, until he spoke.

"What? You have to be joking. You don't know what the Ornatu Legion is? How could you possibly not know? There's no way you could have missed us. We've been around for ten years!"

Nathan shrugged, and there was a long and awkward moment of silence. Amara wanted to tell this man that she had only come here twice in two days, and no one had turned up to explain what an 'Ornatu Legion' was. Things were bizarre enough as they were.

"Perhaps you should refresh our memories. If you would be so kind." Serena said, giving the man a dirty look.

"Your attitude is -ugh, never mind. I'll tell you what the Ornatu Legion is, you ignoramuses. The Ornatu Legion is the militia Aeternus put together to combat the Shadows. Each one of them can use a Persona - aspects of the human psyche with immense power to harm those strange creatures. However, most members have artificial ones, which are competent, but ultimately lacking. At present, only five of us can use natural ones. Those would be myself, the other three of the Holy Cross, and the Commander. Now, do you understand? Honestly..." the man, impatient, got more and more annoyed with every word he uttered.

"Wait, did you say Aeternus?" Serena asked. "Didn't they -"

"Serena, no!" Nathan shouted. "Don't tell him!"

"Don't tell me what?" the man asked, annoyed. "You three are an unusual bunch. Yet, I have to follow my orders to the letter. Every day since we were recruited, we've been on strict orders to locate new Persona users, so we can add to our ranks. If I let you go, they'll kill me. So if you refuse to accompany me, I'm placing you all under arrest! I'll show the Commander what the Holy Cross can do!"

"No way!" Amara shouted. "I'm not joining your creepy Legion!"

"Fine then, I'll just have to take you by force. No one refuses the orders of Kazuya Miyazaki and gets away with it!"

This Kazuya, surrounded by a blue aura, looked very mad. His initial confident, refined demeanor had been switched with irritation. With a fierce cry, called out his Persona.

"Uriel!"

This Persona, an angel, bore large blue wings. Also, he was fitted with green armour on his hands and legs. Wearing a long green cape and with golden armour covering his chest, he brandished a long spear that was far more intricate than Setanta's. His short blonde spiky hair blowing in the wind, his purple eyes shining bright, he descended to the ground, ready to fight.

Serena cracked her whip, and scowled at the angelic Persona with deep rage.

"No way am I losing to an angel! Once was enough!"

What's she talking about? Another video game? How many has this girl played?

"C'mon, guys!" Serena screamed, as Hathor, Artemis and Setanta were summoned. "Aqua!" Once more, Artemis struck her foe with a blast of water energy.

"Argh!" Kazuya was in deep pain, and pure rage flared in his eyes. "Water...my Persona's Achille's Heel. Why did you have to have that power?"

Serena shrugged, amused, and got ready to cast another spell.

"No! No way am I letting you get away with that! Makajam!"

"Mack What?" Serena shouted, but suddenly, Uriel cast a strange spell. A strange mist of green surrounded Serena's body, and Artemis suddenly disappeared. "Wait, what happened?" Serena shouted, but she realised something odd. She couldn't cast her spell. Each time she tried, it was as if something was blocking the way.

"Bastard! What did you just do?" Amara shouted.

"Can't you tell? I made your friend quiet down for a while. They do say silence is golden, after all." Kazuya boasted. With almost supersonic speed, he dashed at Serena, and attacked with his knives.

"Ow!" Serena cried. "Damn. Guys, hold on! I'll try and break this seal!" With an incredible velocity, Serena attacked Kazuya with her whip again and again. "Take this, dirtbag!"

"Dirtbag?" Nathan shrugged, and made Setanta strike Kazuya with his spear. "Don't think you can outmatch us!"

"Don't make me laugh! How long have you had your power? A day? Let me show you how unskilled you really are!" Uriel, with a triumphant twirl of his spear, blasted Amara with Heat Flash - a spell that was like Agi, but it seemed to have electricity within its flames. However, it still did not harm Amara much.

"Ha!" Amara's fire resistance had proven useful once again. "I can take the heat, alright! That all you got, Kaz?"

"You did not just call me that. Let the light take you! Hama!" Uriel sent a series of white cards around Amara, who stared in confusion. The cards glowed, and there was a brilliant flash of light, but nothing happened. "Dammit, it didn't work!" Amara couldn't help but burst out laughing. "You got lucky! That could have taken you out!"

"Give it up! Take this!" Amara began attacking Kazuya with her sword, whilst Nathan dodged another Heat Flash. "Hathor, cut him in half!" Hathor's staff transformed into a sword again, and with a powerful slash, she struck Kazuya.

"Damn, I can't break the spell..." Serena said, trying to attack Kazuya. He dodged every strike, and attacked her with a Zio spell - which caused her a lot of pain. "Oww! No way!"

"Looks like I found your Achille's heel. If only the Commander were here to see this! He's put me down too many times..." Kazuya blocked Amara's slash, and had Uriel use Holy Pierce - a strong spear thrust move. It had enough force to send her back several feet. "No way am I losing to you amateurs!"

However, the moment he said this, he was knocked to the ground. Nathan had struck him from behind, and he immediately followed with a Garu spell.

"If we're such amateurs, you shouldn't turn your back to any of us," Nathan said, with a smug grin. "Especially for someone so highly ranked in your military."

"S-Shut up!" Kazuya shouted, but this distraction was enough for Amara to prepare another Sword Slice attack. "Ugh, damn you, woman!"

"Well done, Amara! This fool's on the ropes now!" Nathan shouted, after he withstood a Zio spell. Hathor raised her transformed sword, whilst Setanta called upon an Aeir Sosa to surround Hathor.

"Wind Cutter!"

Hathor, with her sword now charged with intense winds, slashed Kazuya with great strength.

"Argh!" Kazuya collapsed. Uriel was looking rather fatigued as well. "Damn you! I'm not giving up yet!"

"Face it, this show is over! Aqua!" Serena eagerly struck Kazuya with Aqua once again. With a pitiful groan, Kazuya dismissed Uriel, and slumped onto the ground.

"Urgh...I don't get you guys. You're new at this, but at the same time, you bested me." Kazuya moaned, amazed. "If only you would join the Ornatu Legion, you could be like us in Holy Cross. Or maybe better."

"We just defeated you! Aren't we already better?" Amara was beaming. During the battle, she had thought it might be too hard to defeat him, but now she had pulled through. Of course, she couldn't have done it alone. "So, tell us. What happened ten years ago?"

"What? How could anyone not know that? You must have been around then, surely! Everyone remembers when the Shadows attacked! Aeternus in response developed technology to suppress them! If it wasn't for them, there would be no survivors! Only Shadows prowling the streets!" Kazuya screeched.

Seeing this guy lose his composure isn't a pretty sight. I almost feel bad for kicking his ass.

"You guys are You'll regret getting on my nerves, you three!" Catching his breath, he stood up, clutching a wound on his chest.

"Oh will we?" Nathan asked. "Is that a threat?"

"Next time, I'll make you join us. The Holy Cross won't forget this. And if you ever face the Commander, not even God can help you!" With all his energy, he jumped back onto the roof and ran off into the distance.

"So Shadows invaded, and Aeternus are trying to stop them?" Amara asked, scratching his head. "If Kazuya was telling the truth, then would joining the Ornatu Legion be such a bad idea?"

"It can't be that simple. There are no Shadows in our world, right? And Aeternus vanished after that explosion. Wouldn't that mean that because Aeternus survived, so did the Shadows?" Serena said.

Amara thought about this in silence. Indeed, in one world, there were no Shadows, and no Aeternus. In this world. Aeternus survived, and had an entire army at their disposal. Yet there were Shadows infesting the city, and a giant wall that prevented anyone from getting in, or out.

"A company like Aeternus could take over New Motus City? How did they even create the Shadows?" She asked, struggling to make sense of everything. "What exactly happened on that day that stopped our world from ending up like this one? Maybe we should find that Kazuya guy and ask him what he knows."

Nathan shook his head. "I doubt that would be worthwhile," He said. "First and foremost, we would have to explain we're from a different timeline to his. That's quite a lot for him to take in. We barely understand it ourselves. And if Aeternus discovers where we truly come from, our world might be in danger."

Amara didn't want to admit it, but he was right. If both cities were ruined by the Shadows, there'd be nowhere for them to be safe.

"We're...not done with this world, are we? Guess this was just a tutorial." Serena said, with a grave expression on her face. "Should we really risk everything to save a city that's not really our own? Can we even do that?"

"I understand how frightening this must be. For whatever reason, we were all sent to another timeline, and only a select few can summon a Persona." Nathan said, deep in thought. "Yet in our world, everything is absolutely normal. It's not perfect, but we live peaceful lives. And it seems the day of the explosion, ten years ago, was the point the city became two..."

"I guess we just won't get all the answers right away, huh? If only it were that easy, then I could do well on the Geography exam." Serena said. Exhausted, she yawned. "I'm beat..."

"Alright then, we should return home. I think Serena could use the rest." Nathan said. Serena smiled and walked off, whilst Amara glared at Nathan.

"What, and I don't?" Amara said.

"Trust me, examinations are a far more fearsome obstacle than the Shadows!" Nathan said, following Serena. Amara sighed, and stared at the city around her. Was it really up to the three of them to save this world? Was anyone else, besides the Ornatu Legion, even capable of summoning a Persona?

"And...what happened to the other me?" Amara said to herself, before running after the other two. The prospect of encountering her alternate self was just now reaching her mind. If she did find her, what would she do? Only time would tell.

|Farawell - Outside the Warehouse|19:45 pm|

"Phew! It's good to see the real Farawell again." Serena said, smiling as the gang left the dingy warehouse. It was a small street, one that did not stand out among the famous views of the city, but it was a welcome sight nevertheless. The group had been stuck in the other world for quite some time, and it was dark now. "Are you guys okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine. Thanks." Amara said, but she didn't have much enthusiasm. After all, she had seen an alternate future of her city. A dark land, barricaded, with only a few chosen ones who could fight the monsters. It was bad enough when she thought it was just a virtual reality game, but now it was like hell. "But what are we going to do next? Go after the Holy Cross, and the entire Ornatu Legion, on our own? We need a plan..."

"Agreed..." Nathan said. "I think it would be wise to look into the explosion. Specifically, who was there from Aeternus." Amara and Serena looked at each other, and Nathan groaned. "If I remember correctly, only a select few of their staff were at the event. If the entire organisation were behind it, wouldn't there be some signs? There was quite an intense investigation at the time, so I doubt they'd miss anything paranormal. All that happened after that investigation was Aeternus declaring bankruptcy."

"The disaster must have wiped out all of Aeternus' equipment involving Shadows..." Serena said.

"Yes. There could be more information available, however. I'll do a little investigating and see what I can find." Nathan said.

"Sounds good, Nathan! Do your best!" Amara said, giving him a thumbs up. "Now then, I'm going home! See you guys later!"

"Wait, hold on. If we're going to seriously investigate this thing, we should all exchange numbers. Not only if we're going to enter that other world, but if we just want to talk. I suppose a snob can spare a few minutes to listen..." Nathan said, with a sly grin at Amara.

"I thought you let that go..." Amara said, but deep down she knew he was teasing. Ever since she got her new job, things had been crazy, but she had met two new friends. One was a girl still in school, and one was an upper-class guy, but she still liked them. If she got to knew them better, then going to the other world wouldn't be so bad after all. "I...really enjoyed fighting with you guys."

"That's the only part I've liked so far," Nathan said, sincerely. "Take care, then."

After saying goodbye, Amara headed home whilst Serena and Nathan went off. As she was walking, she could have sworn she was being watched, but she simply shrugged it off. Hopefully, Amara could enjoy the weekend ahead. Perhaps she could ask Stella a few questions of her own soon, however.